Contact Your Local Building Official and/or Floodplain Manager to Obtain a Building Permit BEFORE Starting Repairs to Your Home or Business to avoid costly mistakes!

Ask for a Substantial Damage Determination from your local building official or floodplain manager. They will provide specific details regarding local ordinance requirements which will help you decide the best options for rebuilding.

Local Floodplain Management requirements for new construction will apply to substantial improvements. The building must be brought into compliance with the NFIP. This may include elevating the building, relocating the building to an area outside of the high-risk flood zone, or demolishing the building and rebuilding in compliance.

Learn whether or not there are specific re-building requirements for your community.

Consult local building officials for information and permits when considering new construction or repairs on property affected by recent flooding, tornados/high winds, fire, winter storms, and/or earthquake.

Obtaining building permits for homes or businesses located within a high-risk flood area is especially important as additional permits may be required, such as a land use permit or zoning permit, depending on the property location.

Local governments cannot reduce or ignore the floodplain requirements for building or repairs no matter what the cause of the damage.

Repair projects must meet community building codes and flood-damage prevention ordinances.

Residents are required to start construction and repair only after they have received permits from their local building department.

Important Message for Flood Survivors with Flood Insurance

Please contact your insurance agent immediately.

If your home or business was damaged or destroyed by flood, you face major decisions about your property.

If you have questions or need help with your flood insurance contact the National Flood Insurance Program Help Center:

Filing a Flood Insurance Claim

Contact your agent or insurance company. An insurance adjuster should contact you within a few days to inspect the property. Have this information ready:

Name of the Insurance Company

Policy Number

Contact Information

Obtain a Proof of Loss form from the insurance adjuster. The insurance adjuster will collect evidence, take photographs of damaged property, capture high water marks inside and outside the structure, place damaged items outside the home for the adjusters inspection.

Agree to Damage Amount with Insurer. Sign the Proof of Loss. File the claim. If major flooding has occurred, it may take longer to process claims due to the number of claims.

Increased Cost of Compliance - Flood Insurance Policy Holders

ICC is also “Coverage D” in the NFIP Standard Flood Insurance Policy. It pays the insured up to $30,000 to comply with a state or local floodplain management law or ordinance affecting repair or reconstruction of a flood-damaged building. Qualifying structures must be declared a “substantially damaged” or “repetitive loss” property by a community official.

Eligible mitigation activities are floodproofing (with few exceptions, floodproofing is only approved for commercial buildings), elevation, relocation, and demolition (or any combination thereof).

Construction funded by ICC payments must be completed within 4 years of the substantial damage determination. ICC funds are available in addition to some federal assistance allocated for use to protect the building from future loss.

Lower Your Flood Insurance Premium

Talk to community officials, builders, and other experts about how you can reduce future flood losses. Then talk with your flood insurance agent about how building smarter can save you serious premium dollars.

Options May be Available to Offset Cost of Repairing, Rebuilding, or Re-Locating After A Flood

Choosing the right option requires research, planning, contacting local officials, and benefit-cost assessments (e.g. relocating or elevating the building will impact flood insurance premiums, while other options will not). Talk to your local community officials about available grants to help fund mitigation activities. Also ask about relocation, buyout or acquisition programs.

If You DON'T Have Flood Insurance

Contact your local Insurance Agent to learn about purchasing flood insurance for structures and contents. NOTE: If your community participates in the National Flood Insurance Program you can purchase flood insurance.

If you have questions, call 1-800-621-3362 to speak with a Flood Insurance Specialist.

Safe Room and Community Shelter Resources CD (FEMA 388 CD) - On this CD, you will find displays, posters, handouts, multimedia, and other resources that provide information about mitigating for tornadoes or other high-wind events and about the importance of safe rooms and community shelter construction in saving lives during such events.

Community Safe Room Fact Sheet - This fact sheet provides information about safe rooms and explains that a safe room is a room or structure specifically designed and constructed to resist wind pressures and wind-borne debris impacts during an extreme-wind event, like tornadoes and hurricanes, for the purpose of providing life-safety protection.

Residential Safe Room Fact Sheet - This fact sheet provide information about residential safe rooms and explains that a safe room is a room or structure specifically de-signed and constructed to resist wind pressures and wind-borne debris impacts during an extreme-wind

Safe Room Technical Guidance Video - Interview with Bob Franke (FEMA Region VII) regarding FEMA P-320 (Taking Shelter From the Storm: Building a Safe Room For Your Home or Small Business) and other guidance/research on regarding building a safe room.

Safe Room Construction Videos - These four videos depict how to construct a residential or business safe room. These videos do NOT have an audio component.

Do You Know Your Flood Risk? View Your Flood Insurance Rate Map

Visit the FEMA Map Service Center to find out your risk. You can enter your address and see a map of your property. You may also call and speak to a Mapping Services Specialist

Hazard Mitigation Grant Program

The Hazard Mitgation Grant Program (HMGP) can be used to fund projects to protect either public or private property, as long as the project fits within State and local government mitigation strategies to address areas of risk and complies with HMGP guidelines. Through your State Hazard Mitigation Officer, communities and Federally Recognized Tribes can learn how to develop an application for a Hazard Mitigation Grant.

Region 6 Mitigation Contacts

Best Practices

FEMA collects Mitigation success stories, encourages the public to share their stories, and to review stories from other residents, it is known as the Best Practices Portfolio.

Hazard Mitigation - The Basics

Hazard Mitigation is the effort to reduce loss of life and property by lessening the impact of future disasters by taking action now—before the next disaster—to reduce human and financial consequences later (analyzing risk, reducing risk, insuring against risk). Effective mitigation requires that we all understand local risks, address the hard choices, and invest in long-term community well-being. Without mitigation actions, we jeopardize our safety, financial security, and self-reliance.

Prepare for Disasters Now

Financial Preparedness - Being ready for a disaster is more than storing water and supplies. You also need to be financially ready. Starting early and having adequate insurance, a plan to pay your bills and access to your important records and accounts will help you get back on your feet faster and avoid problems with your credit when you need it most.

Earthquakes - Sudden rolling or shaking events caused by movement under the earth’s surface, earthquakes happen along cracks in the earth's surface, called fault lines, and can be felt over large areas, although they usually last less than one minute. Earthquakes cannot be predicted — although scientists are working on it!

Extreme Heat - Learn what actions to take when the weather is extremely hot and how to understand heat alerts from the National Weather Service that you could receive in your local area.

Floods - Learn what actions to take when you receive a flood watch or warning alert from the National Weather Service for your local area and what to do before, during, and after a flood.

Hurricanes - Learn what actions to take when you receive a hurricane watch or warning alert from the National Weather Service for your local area.

Severe Weather - Can happen anytime, in any part of the country. Severe weather can include hazardous conditions produced by thunderstorms, including damaging winds, tornadoes, large hail, flooding and flash flooding, and winter storms associated with freezing rain, sleet, snow and strong winds.

Tornadoes - Spawned from powerful thunderstorms, tornadoes can cause fatalities and devastate a neighborhood in seconds.

Wildfires - What actions do you need to take if you receive a fire weather watch alert from the National Weather Service for your local area and what to do before, during, and after a wildfire.